Textile machinery and appliances relating thereto



1934- J. JABOULEY 1,985,782

TEXTILE MAGHINERY AND APiLIIANCES RELATING THERETO Filed Feb. 7, 1933 FIG 1 .5 or shuttles and the warps.

Patented Dec. 25, 1934 UN'ITED TEXTILEMACHINERY AND-APPLIANCES RELATING T-HEEETO l oanna bou e ,LbndonpEnglan ,assis b ss assi nments to e nq 'Qorn tetine 12 America, a corporation ot llelaware ;Av l vetionebrua y =7. nsa-sefiarNatasa i In Greatflritain February 11, I93? i This invention relates to circular :loomsthat is, looms in which the warps are arrangedinia circle, and in which the weftislaidsby means of a relative circular motion between theshuttle The inventionis primarily concerned with the maintenance vof even spacing of the warp threads, and proper presentation of the threads to the weft-inserting means.

Since in circular looms it'is' not convenient .to

employ a reed or its equivalent to beat =up:the weft in a manner similar to thatof thel oscillating reed of an ordinaryloom, the warpthreads are not subjected to the evening effect at'the'fell. of the cloth obtained by a-beat-aup reed. In consequence, should there be'any tendency to sideways displacement of the warps,'there is nothing .to overcome such tendency, and unevenfabric results.

According to the present inventiomeven spac ing of the warps is provided by means engaging the warp threads in turn fairly near. to-the fell of the fabric, so'causing the warps to vibrateand assume a correct positionin the fabric. In looms in which the warp threads sli'de over the face of the shuttle, the vibration thus set up overcomes any tendency of the drag imposed by-the friction between the warps and the shuttle from upsetting the warp spacing. -Furthergthe vibration prevents the warps from sticking to each other during shedding.

Thus a finger may be arranged to penetrate the warps slightlyjust in advanced :the lower'edge of the shuttle. Further, in the case of shuttles provided with a -feelingdevice in advance of their front edge, as for examplethepivotallyhung feeler described in U. S. application S. No.-655,561

, filed February 7,1933, a further finger imay be arranged to cause-those warps-to vibrate which are just about to come-into contact with the feel er. In this way, the warps are caused to divide freely into two sheets,'thereby avoiding any slight jamming which might otherwise actuate the feeler and stop the weaving operation.

There may, however, be only one finger arranged to vibrate the warps just in advance of the feeler on the shuttle, this not only causing the warps to take up their correct position in the fabric but also preventing warps of the two sheets sticking together in shedding.

In some cases, especially with warp threads made of or containing artificial materials, it is advisable to have the finger engage the fabric itself as well as the Warp threads adjacent to the fabric. In other cases, e. g. with heavy or strong warps, the finger may engage the warps only.

It appears probable that-the eifectivenes s of the device according to the invention is due to the .tensioned warpso'n releasefromuthe finger taking up .arposition .of fleast resistancein the fabric, i.'e. .where.they tend .to' cause the minimum. ofzcrinkling :of the weft threads, and that this position .obtains .when the .warps are evenly distributedround the fabric. xThe fingeris cf fective both when thewarps are arranged. densely in athe fabricandwhen they are (relatively) more widely. separated, and thus renders .possible the weaving "ofia wide varietyof fabrics notwithstanding; the :absence of a spacing reed to .even .up thewarps at beat-up.

.The finger or fingers are preferably adjustable, both as regards their Lpositionrelative to the shuttle :or shuttlesand the extent of their penetrationzxofatheiwarps. The fingersmay also be adjustableasrtoiheightrandangle.

The fingers .may be :used .in..circular looms in which the-warps .rotateas well as inthosepwith stationary .warps. In thecaseof rotating warps, a. stationary. finger mayvbe used, themotionof the'warps'over the finger setting up the required vibration.

'aThe invention .will .now be.:described.in greater detail mth reference to. the accompanying draw.- ing, :whichshows warpevibrating fingers a statio'narysishuttle loomofthe-type illustrated in U. S. application S. No. 655,560 filed February 7, 1933. :It :is to .be understood that the following descriptionis givenlbyrway of example. only and isinno respect.=.limitative.

Fig. 1;-islalperspectiveviewof the shuttle and thespacing fingers;

.' Fig; A 2 \isaa'. diagrammatic view of the arrangement;

Fig. 3: shows .in .detaiLa .form. of single .finger engaging. both warps and fabric; J

Fig. 5 shows the engagement of a single finger with the warps only.

In Fig. 1 is shown one of any convenient num ber of shuttles 10 mounted substantially vertically within the warp shed of a circular loom. Each shuttle 10 comprises a lower boat-shaped part carrying an upper frame 11 which is adapted to retain a weft spool 12. The weft spool 12 may carry a weft unwinding device 13 as described in U. S. application S. No. 655,558 filed February 7, 1933, the weft (1 being delivered near to the fell of the cloth through a channel in the rear of the shuttle and a guide 24 situated at the rear end of the bottom of the shuttle.

- a warp feeling device 17 of the type described inv U. S. application S. No. 655,561, which device "is.

The shuttle 10 is held in position within the warp shed by means of vane wheels 14, 14 mounted on a rotatable shaft 15 outside the warps and extending into recesses 16 within the shuttle bodies. The shaft 16 is rotated at a suitable speed by gearing connectedto thedrive of the loom (not shown) soathat as the rotating warps meet the vane wheels 14, 14the warps are divided into groups by the vanes and pass through the spaces between the vanes, so having a substantially uninterrupted motioniwhile the shuttles 10 are held stationary. Each shuttle-carries adapted to impel a horizontal rod lfirearwardly on breakage or jamming of the warp threads, so

as toactuate mechanism by which-the shuttles are caused to rotate with the warps.

The lower boat-shaped part of the .shuttle tapers to a narrow edge 19 which rests on the fell'of the clo'th, serving tobeat-up the weft laid by the preceding shuttle. J

Just abovea.the.fell.of the cloth a finger 20 is adjustably mounted on a peg 22 upstanding from a plate 21 which isadjustably mounted on a convenient part'of the loom. The finger 20 terminates just. infront of. the lower edge 19 of the shuttle. An auxiliary spring finger 23 is carried by the finger 20 and is adjusted .so 'as to engage those warp threads about to engage the feeler 17. The two fingers may be moved towards or away from the shuttle and can also be adjusted as to height anddirection by. reason of their adjustable mounting, to suit all types of warp threads and to. impart. more or less severe or light vibration to the threads as required.

.In operation, the warp threads a. which after shedding may bunch or cling together vare engaged by the spring 23 (Fig. 2) andare vibrated so as not to jam against each other as they commence to divide to form ashed in advance of the feeler 17.. .The two sheets of warp threads I), c then pass to the two sides of the shuttle and the finger 20 penetrates the sheet 0 to a small extent so that just as these warps commence to. slide along the outside of the shuttle, they are vibrated and pass easily into the spaces of the vane wheels 14. Thus any thread bunches are broken up and the even spacing of'the warps is maintained. I

. Figs. 3 and 4 show a single finger 25 situated in advance. of the shuttle bottom 19;(at..about the position of the supplementary finger 23 of Figs. 1 .and2) and at the level of the fabric e. Thus both the fabric e and the warps. a are engaged by thepoint 26 of the feeler=25, Fig. 3 showing how the warps are held back at the point of the feeler and then released as they pass beyond it.

Fig. 5 is aview similar to Fig. 4, but showing. a feeler-27 engaging the warps. a only,..thus. pulling them back at its point 28. This figure also .en-

ables it to be seen how the warps are slightly defiected in the edge of the fabric (see 29) and then released to assume an even spacing.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a loom having warps arrangedin a circle, means between which and the warps there is relative motion, said means being so disposed as to penetrate the normal line of the warp threads and, because of the relative motion, to engage and pluck the warp threads in turn, the resultant vibration causing the warp threads to assume an even spacing in the fabric woven in the loom.

" 2. In 'a'loom having warps arranged in a circle,

me'ans between which and the warps there is relative motion, said means being so disposed as relative motion, to engage and pluck the warp threads in turn, the resultant vibration causing the warp threads to assume an even spacing in the fabric woven in the loom.

3. In aloom having warps arranged in a circle, means between which and the warps there is relative motion, said means being so disposed as to press against the fell of the fabric and to penetrate the normal line of the warp threads adjacent. thereto simultaneously and, because of the relative. motion, to engage and pluck the warp threads in turn, the resultant vibration causing the warp threads to assume an even spacing in the fabric woven in'the loom.

4. In a loom having warps arranged in a circle, means between which and the warps there is relative motion, said meansbeing so disposed as to penetrate the normal line of the warp threads and, because of the relative motion, to engage and pluck the warp threads in turn, the resultant vibration causing the warp threads to assume an even spacing in the fabric woven in the loom.

5. A loom having warps arranged in a circle, comprising means adapted to divide the warp threads into a shed, a shuttle adapted to be supported within the shed, a pair of fingers between which and the warp threads there is relative motion, the first finger being so disposed as to engage the warp threads near the point at which they are divided into a. shed by said shedding means, and the second finger being so disposed as to engage the threads immediately in advance of the shuttle, said fingers serving to pluck the warp threads in turn by reason of the relative motion, the vibration resulting from the plucking of the threads by the first finger preventing the warp threads jamming as they commence to divide to JOANNY JABOULEY. 

